Invocation

Om. May Brahman protect us
both! May Brahman bestow upon us both the fruit of Knowledge! May we
both obtain the energy to acquire Knowledge! May what we both study
reveal the Truth! May we cherish no ill feeling toward each other!
Om. Peace! Peace! Peace!

Katha Upanishad

Part One

Chapter I

1

Vajasravasa, desiring rewards,
performed the Visvajit
sacrifice, in which he gave away all his property. He had a son
named Nachiketa.

2—3

When the gifts were being
distributed, faith entered into the heart of Nachiketa, who was
still a boy. He said to himself: Joyless, surely, are the worlds to
which he goes who gives away cows no longer able to drink, to eat,
to give milk, or to calve.

4

He said to his father: Father!
To whom will you give me? He said this a second and a third time.
Then his father replied: Unto death I will give you.

5

Among many I am the first; or
among many I am the middlemost. But certainly I am never the last.
What purpose of the King of Death will my father serve today by thus
giving me away to him?

6

Nachiketa said: Look back and
see how it was with those who came before us and observe how it is
with those who are now with us. A mortal ripens like corn and like
corn he springs up again.

7

Verily, like fire a brahmin
guest enters a house; the householder pacifies him by giving him
water and a seat. Bring him water. O King of Death!

8

The brahmin who dwells in a
house, fasting, destroys that foolish householder’s hopes and
expectations, the reward of his intercourse with pious people, the
merit of his kindly speech, the good results of his sacrifices and
beneficial deeds and his cattle and children as well.

9

Yama said: O Brahmin,
salutations to you! You are a venerable guest and have dwelt in my
house three nights without eating; therefore choose now three boons,
one for each night, O Brahmin! May all be well with me!

10

Nachiketa said: O Death, may
Gautama, my father, be calm, cheerful and free from anger toward me!
May he recognise me and greet me when I shall have been sent home by
you! This I choose as the first of the three boons.

11

Yama said: Through my favour,
your father, Auddilaki Aruni, will recognise you and be again toward
you as he was before. After having seen you freed from the jaws of
death, he will sleep peacefully at night and bear no anger against
you.

12—13

Nachiketa said: In the
Heavenly World there is no fear whatsoever. You, O Death, are not
there and no one is afraid of old age. Leaving behind both hunger
and thirst and out of the reach of sorrow, all rejoice in Heaven.
You know, O Death, the Fire—sacrifice, which leads to Heaven.
Explain it to me, for I am full of faith. The inhabitants of Heaven
attain immortality. This I ask as my second boon.

14

Yama said: I know well the
Fire—sacrifice, which leads to Heaven and I will explain it to you.
Listen to me. Know this Fire to be the means of attaining Heaven. It
is the support of the universe; it is hidden in the hearts of the
wise.

15

Yama then told him about the
Fire, which is the source of the worlds and what bricks were to be
gathered for the altar and how many and how the sacrificial fire was
to be lighted. Nachiketa, too, repeated all this as it had been told
him. Then Yama, being pleased with him, spoke again.

16

High—souled Death, being well
pleased, said to Nachiketa: I will now give you another boon: this
fire shall be named after you. Take also from me this many—coloured
chain.

17

He who has performed three
times this Nachiketa sacrifice, having been instructed by the three
and also has performed his three duties, overcomes birth and death.
Having known this Fire born of Brahman, omniscient, luminous and
adorable and realised it, he attains supreme peace.

18

He who, having known the
three, has performed three times the Nachiketa sacrifice, throws
off, even here, the chains of death, overcomes grief and rejoices in
Heaven.

19

This, O Nachiketa, is your
Fire—sacrifice, which leads to Heaven and which you have chosen as
your second boon. People will call this Fire by your name. Now, O
Nachiketa, choose the third boon.

20

Nachiketa said: There is this
doubt about a man when he is dead: Some say that he exists; others,
that he does not. This I should like to know, taught by you. This is
the third of my boons.

21

Yama said: On this subject
even the gods formerly had their doubts. It is not easy to
understand: the nature of Atman is subtle. Choose another boon, O
Nachiketa! Do not press me. Release me from that boon.

22

Nachiketa said: O Death, even
the gods have their doubts about this subject; and you have declared
it to be not easy to understand. But another teacher like you cannot
be found and surely no other boon is comparable to this.

23

Yama said: Choose sons and
grandsons who shall live a hundred years; choose elephants, horses,
herds of cattle and gold. Choose a vast domain on earth; live here
as many years as you desires.

24

If you deem any other boon
equal to that, choose it; choose wealth and a long life. Be the
king, O Nachiketa, of the wide earth. I will make you the enjoyer of
all desires.

25

Whatever desires are difficult
to satisfy in this world of mortals, choose them as you wish: these
fair maidens, with their chariots and musical instruments — men
cannot obtain them. I give them to you and they shall wait upon you.
But do not ask me about death.

26

Nachiketa said: But, O Death,
these endure only till tomorrow. Furthermore, they exhaust the
vigour of all the sense organs. Even the longest life is short
indeed. Keep your horses, dances and songs for yourself.

27

Wealth can never make a man
happy. Moreover, since I have beheld you, I shall certainly obtain
wealth; I shall also live as long as you rule. Therefore no boon
will be accepted by me but the one that I have asked.

28

Who among decaying mortals
here below, having approached the undecaying immortals and coming to
know that his higher needs may be fulfilled by them, would exult in
a life over long, after he had pondered on the pleasures arising
from beauty and song?

29

Tell me, O Death, of that
Great Hereafter about which a man has his doubts.

Chapter II

1

Yama said: The good is one
thing; the pleasant, another. Both of these, serving different
needs, bind a man. It goes well with him who, of the two, takes the
good; but he who chooses the pleasant misses the end.

2

Both the good and the pleasant
present themselves to a man. The calm soul examines them well and
discriminates. Yea, he prefers the good to the pleasant; but the
fool chooses the pleasant out of greed and avarice.

3

O Nachiketa, after pondering
well the pleasures that are or seem to he delightful, you have
renounced them all. You have not taken the road abounding in wealth,
where many men sink.

4

Wide apart and leading to
different ends are these two: ignorance and what is known as
Knowledge. I regard you, O Nachiketa, to be one who desires
Knowledge; for even many pleasures could not tempt you away.

5

Fools dwelling in darkness,
but thinking themselves wise and erudite, go round and round, by
various tortuous paths, like the blind led by the blind.

6

The Hereafter never reveals
itself to a person devoid of discrimination, heedless and perplexed
by the delusion of wealth. "This world alone exists," he thinks,
"and there is no other." Again and again he comes under my sway.

7

Many there are who do not even
hear of Atman; though hearing of Him, many do not comprehend.
Wonderful is the expounder and rare the hearer; rare indeed is the
experiencer of Atman taught by an able preceptor.

8

Atman, when taught by an
inferior person, is not easily comprehended, because It is diversely
regarded by disputants. But when It is taught by him who has become
one with Atman, there can remain no more doubt about It. Atman is
subtler than the subtlest and not to be known through argument.

9

This Knowledge cannot be
attained by reasoning. Atman become easy of comprehension, O
dearest, when taught by another. You have attained this Knowledge
now. You are, indeed, a man of true resolve. May we always have an
inquirer like you!

10

Yama said: I know that the
treasure resulting from action is not eternal; for what is eternal
cannot be obtained by the non—eternal. Yet I have performed the
Nachiketa sacrifice with the help of non—eternal things and attained
this position which is only relatively eternal.

11

The fulfilment of desires, the
foundation of the universe, the rewards of sacrifices, the shore
where there is no fear, that which adorable and great, the wide
abode and the goal—all this you have seen; and being wise, you have
with firm resolve discarded everything.

12

The wise man who, by means of
concentration on the Self, realises that ancient, effulgent One, who
is hard to be seen, unmanifest, hidden and who dwells in the buddhi
and rests in the body—he, indeed, leaves joy and sorrow far behind.

13

The mortal who has heard this
and comprehended it well, who has separated that Atman, the very
soul of dharma, from all physical objects and has realised the
subtle essence, rejoices because he has obtained that which is the
cause of rejoicing. The Abode of Brahman, I believe, is open for
Nachiketa.

14

Nachiketa said: That which you
see as other than righteousness and unrighteousness, other than all
this cause and effect, other than what has been and what is to
be—tell me That.

15

Yama said: The goal which all
the Vedas declare, which all austerities aim at and which men desire
when they lead the life of continence, I will tell you briefly: it
is Om.

16

This syllable Om is indeed
Brahman. This syllable is the Highest. Whosoever knows this syllable
obtains all that he desires.

17

This is the best support; this
is the highest support. Whosoever knows this support is adored in
the world of Brahma.

18

The knowing Self is not born;
It does not die. It has not sprung from anything; nothing has sprung
from It. Birthless, eternal, everlasting and ancient, It is not
killed when the body is killed.

19

If the killer thinks he kills
and if the killed man thinks he is killed, neither of these
apprehends aright. The Self kills not, nor is It killed.

20

Atman, smaller than the small,
greater than the great, is hidden in the hearts of all living
creatures. A man who is free from desires beholds the majesty of the
Self through tranquillity of the senses and the mind and becomes
free from grief.

21

Though sitting still, It
travels far; though lying down, It goes everywhere. Who but myself
can know that luminous Atman who rejoices and rejoices not?

22

The wise man, having realised
Atman as dwelling within impermanent bodies but Itself bodiless,
vast and all—pervading, does not grieve.

23

This Atman cannot be attained
by the study of the Vedas, or by intelligence, or by much hearing of
sacred books. It is attained by him alone whom It chooses. To such a
one Atman reveals Its own form.

24

He who has not first turn away
from wickedness, who is not tranquil and subdued and whose mind is
not at peace, cannot attain Atman. It is realised only through the
Knowledge of Reality.

25

Who, then, knows where He
is—He to whom Brahmins and kshattriyas are mere food and death
itself a condiment?

Chapter III

1

Two there are who dwell within
the body, in the intellect, the supreme akasa of the heart, enjoying
the sure rewards of their own actions. The knowers of Brahman
describe them as light and shade, as do those householders who have
offered oblations in the Five Fires and also those who have thrice
performed the Nachiketa sacrifice.

2

We know how to perform the
Nachiketa sacrifice, which is the bridge for sacrificers; and we
know also that supreme, imperishable Brahman, which is sought by
those who wish to cross over to the shore where there is no fear.

3

Know the atman to be the
master of the chariot; the body, chariot; the intellect, the
charioteer; and the mind, the reins.

4

The senses, they say, are the
horses; the objects, the roads. The wise call the atman—united with
the body, the senses and the mind—the enjoyer.

5

If the buddhi, being related
to a mind that is always distracted, loses its discriminations, then
the senses become uncontrolled, like the vicious horses of a
charioteer.

6

But if the buddhi, being
related to a mind that is always restrained, possesses
discrimination, then the senses come under control, like the good
horses of a charioteer.

7

If the buddhi, being related
to a distracted mind, loses its discrimination and therefore always
remains impure, then the embodied soul never attains the goal, but
enters into the round of births.

8

But if the buddhi, being
related to a mind that is restrained, possesses discrimination and
therefore always remains pure, then the embodied soul attains that
goal from which he is not born again.

9

A man who has discrimination
for his charioteer and holds the reins of the mind firmly, reaches
the end of the road; and that is the supreme position of Vishnu.

10—11

Beyond the senses are the
objects; beyond the objects is the mind; beyond the mind, the
intellect; beyond the intellect, the Great Atman; beyond the Great
Atman, the Unmanifest; beyond the Unmanifest, the Purusha. Beyond
the Purusha there is nothing: this is the end, the Supreme Goal.

12

That Self hidden in all beings
does not shine forth; but It is seen by subtle seers through their
one—pointed and subtle intellects.

13

The wise man should merge his
speech in his mind and his mind in his intellect. He should merge
his intellect in the Cosmic Mind and the Cosmic Mind in the Tranquil
Self.

14

Arise! Awake! Approach the
great and learn. Like the sharp edge of a razor is that path, so the
wise say—hard to tread and difficult to cross.

15

Having realised Atman, which is
soundless, intangible, formless, undecaying and likewise tasteless,
eternal and odourless; having realised That which is without beginning
and end, beyond the Great and unchanging—one is freed from the jaws of
death.

16

The wise man who has heard and
related the eternal story of Nachiketa, told by Death, is adored in the
world of Brahman.

17

And he who, practising
self—control, recites the supreme secret in an assembly of Brahmins or
at a after—death ceremony obtains thereby infinite rewards. Yea, he
obtains infinite rewards.

Part Two

Chapter I

1

Yama said: The self—existent
Supreme Lord inflicted an injury upon the sense—organs in creating them
with outgoing tendencies; therefore a man perceives only outer objects
with them and not the inner Self. But a calm person, wishing for
Immortality, beholds the inner Self with his eyes closed.

2

Children pursue outer pleasures
and fall into the net of widespread death; but calm souls, having known
what is unshakable Immortality, do not covet any uncertain thing in this
world.

3

It is through Atman that one knows
form, taste, smell, sounds, touches and carnal pleasures. Is there
anything that remains unknown to Atman? This, verily, is That.

4

It is through Atman that one
perceives all objects in sleep or in the waking state. Having realised
the vast, all—pervading Atman, the calm soul does not grieve.

5

He who knows the individual soul,
the experiencer of the fruits of action, as Atman, always near and the
Lord of the past and the future, will not conceal himself from others.
This, verily, is That.

6

He verily knows Brahman who knows
the First—born, the offspring of austerity, created prior to the waters
and dwelling, with the elements, in the cave of the heart. This, verily,
is That.

7

He verily knows Brahman who knows
Aditi, the soul of all deities, who was born in the form of Prana, who
was created with the elements and who, entering into the heart, abides
therein. This, verily, is That.

8

Agni, hidden in the two
fire—sticks and well guarded—like a child in the womb, by its mother—is
worshipped day after day by men who are awake and by those who offer
oblations in the sacrifices. This, verily, is That.

9

Whence the sun rises and whither
it goes to set, in whom all the devas are contained and whom none can
ever pass beyond—This, verily, is That.

10

What is here, the same is there
and what is there, the same is here. He goes from death to death who
sees any difference here.

11

By the mind alone is Brahman to be
realised; then one does not see in It any multiplicity whatsoever. He
goes from death to death who sees multiplicity in It. This, verily, is
That.

12

The Purusha, of the size of a
thumb, dwells in the body. He is the Lord of the past and the future.
After knowing Him, one does not conceal oneself any more. This, verily,
is That.

13

The Purusha, of the size of a
thumb, is like a flame without smoke. The Lord of the past and the
future, He is the same today and tomorrow. This, verily, is That.

14

As rainwater falling on a mountain
peak runs down the rocks in all directions, even so he who sees the
attributes as different from Brahman verily runs after them in all
directions.

15

As pure water poured into pure
water becomes one with it, so also, O Gautama, does the Self of the sage
who knows.

Chapter II

1

There is a city with eleven gates
belonging to the unborn Atman of undistorted Consciousness. He who
meditates on Him grieves no more; liberated from the bonds of ignorance,
he becomes free. This, verily, is That.

2

He is the sun dwelling in the
bright heavens. He is the air in the interspace. He is the fire dwelling
on earth. He is the guest dwelling in the house. He dwells in men, in
the gods, in truth, in the sky. He is born in the water, on earth, in
the sacrifice, on the mountains. He is the True and the Great.

3

He it is who sends prana upward
and who leads apana downward. All the devas worship that adorable One
seated in the middle.

4

When the soul, identified with the
body and dwelling in it, is torn away from the body, is freed from it,
what then remains? This, verily, is That?

5

No mortal ever lives by prana,
which goes up, nor by apana, which goes down. Men live by something
different, on which these two depend.

6

Well then, Gautama, I shall tell
you about this profound and eternal Brahman and also about what happens
to the atman after meeting death.

7

Some jivas enter the womb to be
embodied as organic beings and some go into non—organic matter—according
to their work and according to their knowledge.

8

He, the Purusha, who remains awake
while the sense—organs are asleep, shaping one lovely form after
another, that indeed is the Pure, that is Brahman and that alone is
called the Immortal. All worlds are contained in Him and none can pass
beyond. This, verily, is That.

9

As the same non—dual fire, after
it has entered the world, becomes different according to whatever it
burns, so also the same non—dual Atman, dwelling in all beings, becomes
different according to whatever It enters. And It exists also without.

10

As the same non—dual air, after it
has entered the world, becomes different according to whatever it
enters, so also the same non—dual Atman, dwelling in all beings, becomes
different according to whatever It enters. And It exists also without.

11

As the sun, which helps all eyes
to see, is not affected by the blemishes of the eyes or of the external
things revealed by it, so also the one Atman, dwelling in all beings, is
never contaminated by the misery of the world, being outside it.

12

There is one Supreme Ruler, the
inmost Self of all beings, who makes His one form manifold. Eternal
happiness belongs to the wise, who perceive Him within themselves—not to
others.

13

There is One who is the eternal
Reality among non—eternal objects, the one truly conscious Entity among
conscious objects and who, though non—dual, fulfils the desires of many.
Eternal peace belongs to the wise, who perceive Him within
themselves—not to others.

14

The sages realise that
indescribable Supreme Joy as "This is That." How can I realise It? Is It
self—luminous? Does It shine brightly, or not?

15

The sun does not shine there, nor
the moon and the stars, nor these lightnings—not to speak of this fire.
He shining, everything shines after Him. By His light all this is
lighted.

Chapter III

1

This is that eternal Asvattha Tree
with its root above and branches below. That root, indeed, is called the
Bright; That is Brahman and That alone is the Immortal. In That all
worlds are contained and none can pass beyond. This, verily, is That.

2

Whatever there is—the whole
universe—vibrates because it has gone forth from Brahman, which exists
as its Ground. That Brahman is a great terror, like a poised
thunderbolt. Those who know It become immortal.

3

From terror of Brahman, fire
burns; from terror of It, the sun shines; from terror of It, Indra and
Vayu and Death, the fifth, run.

4

If a man is able to realise
Brahman here, before the falling asunder of his body, then he is
liberated; if not, he is embodied again in the created worlds.

5

As in a mirror, so in the buddhi;
as in a dream, so in the World of the Fathers; as in water, so Brahman
is seen in the World of the Gandharvas; as in light and shade, so in the
World of Brahma.

6

Having understood that the senses
have their separate origin and that they are distinct from Atman and
also that their rising and setting belong to them alone, a wise man
grieves no more.

7

Beyond the senses is the mind,
beyond the mind is the intellect, higher than the intellect is the Great
Atman, higher than the Great Atman is the Unmanifest.

8

Beyond the Unmanifest is the
Person, all—pervading and imperceptible. Having realised Him, the
embodied self becomes liberated and attains Immortality.

9

His form is not an object of
vision; no one beholds Him with the eye. One can know Him when He is
revealed by the intellect free from doubt and by constant meditation.
Those who know this become immortal.

10

When the five instruments of
knowledge stand still, together with the mind and when the intellect
does not move, that is called the Supreme State.

11

This, the firm Control of the
senses, is what is called yoga. One must then be vigilant; for yoga can
be both beneficial and injurious.

12

Atman cannot be attained by
speech, by the mind, or by the eye. How can It be realised in any other
way than by the affirmation of him who says: "He is"?

13

He is to be realised first as
Existence limited by upadhis and then in His true transcendental nature.
Of these two aspects, Atman realised as Existence leads the knower to
the realisation of His true nature.

14

When all the desires that dwell in
the heart fall away, then the mortal becomes immortal and here attains
Brahman.

15

When all the ties of the heart are
severed here on earth, then the mortal becomes immortal. This much alone
is the teaching.

16

There are one hundred and one
arteries of the heart, one of which pierces the crown of the head. Going
upward by it, a man at death attains immortality. But when his prana
passes out by other arteries, going in different directions, then he is
reborn in the world.

17

The Purusha, not larger than a
thumb, the inner Self, always dwells in the hearts of men. Let a man
separate Him from his body with steadiness, as one separates the tender
stalk from a blade of grass. Let him know that Self as the Bright, as
the Immortal—yea, as the Bright, as the Immortal.

18

Having received this wisdom taught
by the King of Death and the entire process of yoga, Nachiketa became
free from impurities and death and attained Brahman. Thus it will be
also with any other who knows, in this manner, the inmost Self.

End of Katha Upanishad

Peace Chant

Om. May Brahman protect us both!
May Brahman bestow upon us both the fruit of Knowledge! May we both
obtain the energy to acquire Knowledge! May what we both study reveal
the Truth! May we cherish no ill feeling toward each other!
Om. Peace! Peace! Peace!